Our research focuses on strategies designed to maintain skin health with a particular focus on the prevention of pressure ulcers, a condition which afflicts all ages of the population. It is well known to reduce Quality and Life and represents both a Patient Safety issue and a major financial burden on the health services.
The research led by Dan Bader and Peter Worsley spans basic laboratory testing using physical and computational models for medical device evaluation, controlled experiments using a range of able-bodied volunteers, to clinical trials involving patients considered at risk of developing pressure ulcers. The group’s work has evaluated the safety of medical devices that interface with the skin, following evidence that implicated devices in the development of over 30% of pressure ulcers acquired in hospitals. Indeed, pressure ulcers in both the acute and community settings contribute to an NHS financial wound care burden of £4Bn/yr. Our research is facilitated by establishing robust test protocols conducted in state-of-art facilities based in the Clinical Academic Facility in the University Hospitals Southampton Trust.
The Skin Health team has been at the forefront of the Clinical Academic postgraduate programme, mentoring clinicians to complete part-time PhDs with clinical collaborators (Solent, Portsmouth, Southern and Salisbury NHS Trust). Bader and Worsley are actively involved with national and international groups including the Tissue Viability Society (Bader is a fellow and Editor of the Tissue Viability Journal) and the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (Worsley is a Trustee and Scientific Committee chair). Our research findings have been used in collaboration with industrial partners to evaluate and develop new medical devices, which safely interface with patent's skin and our work has influenced the guidelines produced by the European, US and Pan-Pacific Panels (EPUAP/NPUAP/PPPIA).
Our ultimate goal is to establish robust parameters, which indicate the status of loaded skin and soft tissues, based on an array of biomechanical, biophysical and microclimate measurements, in conjunction with biomarkers. We aim to translate these technologies in a range of care settings to improve clinical practice and support self-management of skin health.
With colleagues from the Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences:
Dr Peter Worsley explains why the prevention of device related pressure ulcers is important
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Read More| Related Projects | Status | Type |
|---|---|---|
| STINTS - Skin Tissue Integrity under Shear | Active | Grant |
| Prosthetics and Orthotics | Active | Grant |
| Sensor Smart Liner for a lower Limb prosthesis | Active | Other |
| A BioEngineering approach for the SAFE design and fitting of Respiratory Protective Equipment (BE-SAFE RPE) | Active | Grant |
| Development of the fundamental 3D face-mask model and multi-individual model using mesh morphing approaches | Active | Other |
| Objective Assessment of Skin and Soft tissues (OASIS): improving on Rodnan | Active | Grant |
| Industry Collaboration | Active | Other |
| Medical Devices and Vulnerable Skin Network (MDVSN) | Dormant | Grant |
| Pressure reduction through continuous monitoring in community settings (PROMISE) | Dormant | Grant |
| Load monitoring and Intervention System (LOMIS) to prevent diabetic foot ulceration | Active | Grant |